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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Pixel Ear Surgery Update: A Serious & Unexpected Result

I just wanted to share a quick and unexpected update on my ear surgery. I've been telling everyone how well I've been healing up and that the ear looks good in spite of a big ugly looking scab that covered the entire length of the suture area where they sewed my ear back together. For those that don't know, I had a scary growth removed from my right ear and tested for cancer last month. Believe it or not, we still don't have the final results from pathology. Now for my ear update...

Things appeared to be healing well...

I had a large scab (sorry to be doggie gross but it's important) that was worrisome, however the vet said to leave it alone. We did. Mommy protected it like it was gold. No touching, scratching, poking, etc from me or my sisters. Mommy kept watching it, and slowly it got a little smaller. Finally, it was just a dot in the center on the top side of my ear but was still big on the underside. She noticed that it appeared to go right through my ear. Mommy was really worried I might have a hole going through my ear but thought, "No way. Pixel had two layers of heavy duty stitches." But were those stitches TOO heavy for my tender little delicate ears? I ask this because yesterday that big scab finally fell off.

Now for the not so good surprise...

You are not going to believe this...when Mommy saw where it fell out, and it lay on my blanket, she looked at my ear and I now have a large hole in my ear where the surgery was done. It's so large, that a toothpick could go through it and not touch the sides of the hole! We are NOT happy about this at all. One wrong scratch of my paw nail or one wrong playful tug with my sisters and my newly healed ear could split right open and into split butterfly wings. It's basically shaped like the center of a funnel cone where the hole is the center point of where they cut the wedge out of my ear. This shocked Mommy and she's not happy about it at all. She's very worried.

What to do now...

We are watching it for now, being careful not to let it get snagged, but we will be talking to the vet about it. There's barely 1/8th of an inch (0.3175 cm) of newly healed tissue between the hole and the edge of the ear now. We are snowed in right now but when we are able to go to the vet, we will, and we will talk to them about corrective measures. Our point in sharing this is to point out that as pet parents, you must always be "on top of things" when your pet gets treated or has surgery of any kind. Things can happen, and you must keep a watchful eye for circumstances to change, even when everything appears to be healing or going well.

A Pet Parent Reminder...

Remember that you are your pet's only advocate, they cannot speak for themselves, you must speak for them in all things. Mommy will be taking care of me in this, just as she always has.
I promise we'll continue to keep you updated on what happens. We've joked that I could always become a pirate and just get a huge hoop earring to go through that ear, but in all reality, the danger of it tearing is just too great.

What are your thoughts on this friends? Is Mommy overreacting with her concern or would you feel the same way? Please leave a comment below and let me know. We love to hear from you!

The hole is pretty big. The problem is that any attempt to stitch it closed will cause more damage to the surrounding ear. As you rightly point out, there is very little healthy tissue between the hole and the edge of the ear now. Don't have a brilliant solution, offhand. Will be praying about it, and for both Pixel and Mommy.